Cutting machine



June 22, 1937. H. J. HELLER 2,

CUTTING MACHINE I I Filed June 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 k INVENTOR 2/ H ERBERT J. HE LLE R,

new swam 4 ATTORN EY JuneJZ, 1937. H. J. HELLER 2,084,483 v CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HERBERT J.HEL.LE R.

BY Hm ATTORNEY Patented June 22 193 7 7 2,084,488 H Corrine t Herbert J. Heller, New YorkQ N. Application June 15, 1935, Serial No. 2 ,169"

, r v Claims. (01. 128--.-31 7) The'present invention relates toa machine for cutting a hard cover of ayielding material.

The main object of the invention is toprovide means for easily cuttingplaster casts, and to fa- 5 cilitate thus the physicians work when removing such cast from a limb of a r person bandaged therewith.

* Another object of aged person.

Another object of shells in such a manner that these shells may be again attached to the limb. from which the plas ter cast had been removed by holding the. shells together with for instance adhesive tape, bandages or the like.

The invention essentially consists of a cutter.v blade, as for instance a rotating knife or sawdisc, in a casing provided with a shoe adapted to;

be slid between the skin; of the bandaged person and the cutting disc. V A I for handling and guiding the cutter corresponding with its "purpose, and it consists furthermore in means for releasing the bandaged person from pfissure due to the weight of .the cutting mac ne.

The invention also consists of certain means for guarding the bandaged person and the person. applying the machineagainst. injuries from the cutter-blade. The invention furthermore consists of means resiliently supporting the cutter on the plaster cast to be cut, and guarding the bandaged person and the. person operating the cutter against injuries by the cutting tool. 7 I.

.Further objects, detaiis and advantages willbe 49 apparent from the following descriptionand the drawings illustrating embodiments of my invention. p r

In the drawings are:

Fig. 1 a side elevation of the plaster 'cast out ter as per the invention;

Fig. 2 a frontview; Figs. 3 and 4 sectional views along lines 3-3 and 4-4 respectively of Fig. 1, certain accessorial parts being omitted;

Fig. 5 a, b, c. d sectional views of alternative modifications of the cutting edge and, of the shoe arm at a place-indicated by: line 5- 5 of Fig, 1; f

Fig. 6 atop view and Fig. 7 a sectional view of a modilcation;

Fig. 8 a schematical side view of parts of the modification of Figs. 6 and '7;

Fig. 9 a side view of another embodimentof I my invention.

the invention to provide. a machine ofthe above mentioned type which. 10 may be applied without any-danger to the band-x the invention is to providev means for cutting plaster castssinto two-half? Fig. 10 a sectional view along line IIl-III of Fig.9 p Figs. 11, 12, 14,:and 16 side views of alternate tive modifications of cutter-blades partly broken away, Figs. 13 and. 17.. cross-sections-along lines I3-'-I3 and I'III of Figs. 11, '12, and 16;respec.-; tively, and Figs. 15a and. 15b, alternative .c'rosssections. along line I5-I5 of Fig. 14;

Figs. '18 and 19 side and frontelevation spectively of apart of theembodiment villus tratedin Figs. 1 to 4,-and

ref

Fig. ZO-aschematicalillustration of the ap plication of the invention.

, Referring now to thedrawingsand particular I 1y to Figs. 1,to4; a casing piece] is equipped with a bearing 2, in' which a shaft3 is journalled.

A handle lis provided on casing piece, Iior car-V ryingand operating the machine unit. Shaft 3- rotatableby any suitable meansnot. shown car.-' ries a cutter-blade 5 coupled with the shaft .3. for rotationand pressed against collari of the shaft by means. of-nutcover plate is.

. I v 7 attached tocasing piece ,I ;by'-,means of screws The invention furthermore consists of means 9, sothat a larger segment. of the cutter-blade 5 ishoused. within thecasingformedby piece I and cover plate 8 while a smaller segmentprotrudes from the casing downward. At one of the lower edges of the circumference of casing piece I, a hinge III, with hinge bolt .II, is provided by means of whichia. guard I2 is piv-,

otally connected with the casing. Guard I2 con-j sists oftwo, side portions I3 and I4 ,approximately of segment-shape, and of an arched botv tom-portion I5 which, however, is considerably shorter than the periphery of the side po tions I3 and II, and which is slotted opposite the out: ter blade. The width of the bottom portion I5 is larger than the width of the casing piece I'and its cover plate .8, and.the width of the slot .IG

in the bottom piece I I5 is larger than the width of. the cutter bladeso that theguard I2 maybe swung upward into the position, indicated 1 by dash-and-dot-lines in Fig. 1. In order to permit side I4 to clear bearing 2 forshaft 3 whenthe guard is being raised, side is provided with a has an upper plate-like extension I9 (see Figs. 18'

and 19). recessed at 25in relation toitsouter- 5 contour in such a manner that the periphery off said arm forms the continuationoi. the contour of the casing piece I. At its lowerend,-arm I1 carries a shoe or finger-like extension 2| tapered at its front'portion and well rounded off all over so that said shoe may be easily and harmlessly passed between a plaster cast and the skin of the person bandaged with such plaster cast. Shoe v 2| has a longitudinal groove 22 into which the,

1 lowest @rtion of the cutter blade 5 may enter.

V j m oifder to give further protection to the bandaged personas well as to theoperator of the machine, the inner contour of arm l1 follows the circumference of the cutter blade with very little distance as illustrated :in Figs. 5a andb, The cross section of arm I! may either be rectangular as the arm 2|'| in Fig.5!) in order-to spread the parts in. the rear of" the advancing cutter, :or itv may be of any other, suitable form as for instance H1 in Fig. 5a, Further advantageous cross sec-.

tions'are shownin Figs. 5c and 5d in which the arm-cross sections 3|! and 4|I areprovided'ea'ch with a'groove 41 entered by the cutter edge with little clearance. Groove 41 is the prolongationof groove 22 in shoe 2|. The flanks of these grooves l prevent, or make at least more'difllcult theentering of any matter between the cutting edge 'and Means are provided for resiliently supporting the'machine unit upon'theplaster cast. during the cutting operation. For this purpose, a spring 23 is fastened with one end in alug 240i the cover plate 8, and wound around thehinge boltii. The, other end'of spring 23 isattached toalug 25.0f the guard |2 insucha manner,-=that;it.;tends "to:

urge the-"guard downward as to reston shoesfl:

- "51f now, as illustrated in Fig 20, a bandaged 3O limb, for instance a leg 25, is rested on a table 21, and if, the cutting machine is appliedxby-sliding shoe 2| between the plaster cast 28 anditheskin I of the leg'26, then" the guard |2*willbeflifted 'againstthe tension of spring :23 shown in'Figs. 1

to withstand all such forces which may 'accom ,45 I

and'2. Provided said spring-being sumciently strong, the weight of the cutting machine will entirely rest on the plaster cast proper which in 1 turn is'supported by the table 21, while shoe=2i is pressed 'upward'against the inner surface of the plaster cast 28. Thus-, -leg 26 wil1 be entirely re-p leased from the weight-of the machine, and also from other'operating forces, since the strength of a conventional plaster cast is'amply 'sufllcient,

pany' the cutting.

{It is not'necessary 1n thefsense of my im rentioriv that part "I2 is designed as-asupporti'ng' member andsimultaneously aguard'as will be apparent 1 from Figs. 9 and,-10',=-in which accessorialparts" arefomitted for sake 'of'clearness." In'fthis case,

member'32is similar to bottom 'portio'n iiof the guard 2 in Figs. 1 to 4 without sidep'ortions. fits main object is'to resiliently support themachinei unit upon the plaster cast during the'cutting operation while'its guarding effect is limited." Thus;

anysuitable means other thanmemb ers 2 or '22 adapted to support'the machine unit whenbearing upon a plaster cast tobe cut, are within the/scope of my invention. In many cases, it is particularly surface of the plastic cast advantageous to provide I the" supporting member with rollers such as for instance rollers 34 in order to facilitate the sliding of the machine over the A separate and fixed guard 'suc'hasi i maybe provided which consists of a metal plate bent as illustrated in Fig. 10 and resiliently bearing against the sides of the cutter blade' 5." 'lhis portions-of'the plaster.

Since the" material of plaster-"east,particularly guard-33 hel'ps'als'o to spread asunder the'cut if moist, has the tendency of sticking to thecut V ter, there is thedanger that slot I6 in the support ing member |2, andgroove 22 in shoe 2| become clogged. In 'order to prevent'this drawback, I prefer to use scrapers, for instance such as muswhich being ground from and'ifi'respectively. f I I In many instances, it" may be desirable tocu't a, os4,4ss a, I

trated in rm. 1 and a. rm. this purpose wall portions. and 21,01 the casing piece I and cover plate 8 respectively are inwardly inclined};

Metal scraper sheets and 35 are attached thereto as by screws 40 and bear against the sides of the cutter blade 5. The inclination of the scrap I v ers has the result that material taken along by the cutter-blade will betransported to the outside of the casing. To the opposite sides of the inclined wallportions'25 and itfpieoes 4| and 420i felt or the like are held by springs 43 and 44-so as to also bear against the sides of the cutter-blade ,7 5. Greasing material maybe applied to the felt pieces 4| and 42 through holes 45 and .45 re-' spectively.

The machine may furthermore befegu'ipped of an actual cutting effect, thatmeans of a cleavwith a grinding-appliance I41 as is conventional with rotarycutting tools'ofother designs. I have found that for cutting plaster casts, tools a ing effect, are preferable tothoseof a moresaw-i. 7 like, that means era-more ripping en'ect; Some;

embodiments-1 of these I preferable ,cutter blades j are illustrated in Figs. 1 l to :17. Ineach case the cutting edge or edges are from 'bothsides. of thecutting blade or disc, the latter being either; a plane as in Figs. 13,151) and 17, or biconcaveias in Fig. 15a. The outer periphery-of the" may either be uninterrupted-circle: ll)v z "or it may be serrated as in Figs. 12,14 and: 16,11? such a manner, however. that 5 8012089681 cleavmg, but not ripping edge 'oiithe individual toothi; I

engages the material to 1 be 4 cut when the' cutter blade rotatingin the sensejof thearr'owsin Figs: 12, .14and 16 isadvancedrwln other wordsthe blade may be provided with recesses 45 inclined in the direction of rotation asin Fig; l2,"or=teethmay be formed; the advancing eczema-or n b:

muiqslde asmngy tna not wholly through the entire plaster castlayer"; but to make only'incisionsof apredetermihedy depth. rms may be doii with the modified'em f l t as illustrated in 1-1 5 and m 0888, the bearing ofijth cutwbbbdenshan is movable in relation to the shoe-2|." casing'ipiece 5| to which shoe 2| is fastened is provided-with tension 52a slot iiin 'whieh'the cutter blade shaft 54 may bemoved in vertical direcltioni The groovedat'5l' and 52in such'a jlhanner, thatit embraces the dovetail extension 52, and manna be moved up and jdownwith regard to the casing. 'piec'e 5|. For thisa threaded spindle 52 is so attached to piece 51, thatitmaybeturned but not, axiallydisplace'd with regard-ito this piecebearing of shaft 54 ispartpf a piecell'l t,

Bracket 55 has a threadedbore; 04 andforms the I nut for the threads of spindle". TheheaH 55 ofthe latter is provided with means for turning 1 the spindle 53, for instance with' wings 56." If; it 7 is desirable toattach anelectric motorfor driving shaft 54, directly tothemachine unihpiece 51 may be designed as a transmission casing housing. A set of'helicalgears" and 5| which form the transmission between the motor 52' and the cutter-blade shaft 54 may be rigidlyoonnected with casing 51 in any suitable manner. v 1 If spindle "is turned, casing 51 together with motor 62, shaft 54 andt-cutter bladei, is moved up or down withregards tocasing piece 5| time. varying the distance betwemrtbe cutter-blade 5 and the shoe 2|. i

Fig, 8- schematicallyillustrates the variation 0! TI,

this distance. The lowest positionof the cutterblade and its shaft 54 is shown in solid lines, while the dotted linesindicate a raised position of the periphery 5 of the cutter-blade and of the shaft 54'.

The distance between the lowest point of the periphery 5 and the shoe 2| determines the thickness of the material remaining uncut when the machine is applied.

Although I have described the machine as per my invention in its application for cutting plaster casts, I wish to emphasize that it may be used with equal advantage for cutting or removing the hard cover of a yielding matter without injury thereto, for instance the armoring ofinsulated cable leads, provided there is a possibility of urging the shoe between the yielding matter and the inner surface of its cover.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled. in the art, that various modifications may be made in the detail of construction without departing from the principle herewith set forth.

I claim: I

.1. A machine for cutting a hard cover of a yielding matter, such as a plaster cast of a bandaged limb, comprising a casing, a power driven shaft, a bearing for said shaft in connection with said casing, a cutter-blade fixed on said shaft, and protruding with its cutting portion from said casing, supporting means for said casing adapted to movably bear upon the outer surface of a given hard cover of a yielding matter, a shoe-like member in rigid connection with said casing, protruding beneath the cutting portion of said cutting blade and adapted to be slid between said. hard cover and said yielding matter, means for adjustably altering the height of said bearing in relation to said casing, and resilient means attached to said casing and said supporting means, being of sufiicient strength to counteract substantially the weight of the machine and cutting forces, and tendingto decrease the distance between said 7 supporting means and said shoe-like member whereby the machine may be supported by said supporting means from the cover to which it isapplied.

2. A machine for cutting a hard cover of a yielding matter, such. as a plaster cast of a bandaged limb, comprising a casing, a cutterblade shaft, a cutter-blade, protruding with its cutting portion from said casing, supporting means for said casing, adapted to movably bear upon the outer surface of a given hard cover of a yielding matter, a shoe-like member in connection with said casing, protruding beneath the cutting portion of said cutting blade, and adapted to he slid between said hard cover and said yielding matter, a transmission for said shaft, 2. transmission housing with bearings for said shaft connected with said casing, a motor connected with said transmission, means for adjusting the position of said transmission housing and said motor in relation to said casing as to the distance of said cutter-blade shaft from said shoe-like member, and resilient means attached to said casing and said supporting means, being of sufiicient strength to counteract substantially the weight of the machine and cutting forces,

and being adapted to decrease the distancebetween said supporting means and said shoe-like by said supporting means from the cover to which it is applied.

3. A machine for cutting a hard cover of a surface of a given hard cover of a yielding matter while the machine is being advanced for cutting said cover, a. shoe-like member in rigid connecticn with said casing, protruding beneaththe cutting portion of said cutting blade and adapted to be slid between said hard cover and yielding matter, resilient means connected with said supporting means and said casing and tending to lift the casing in relation to the supporting means bearing upon the hard cover, whereby said shoelike member may be pressed against the inner surface of said hard cover.

4. A machine for cutting a hard coverof a yielding matter, such as a plaster cast of a band- -member whereby the machine may be supported aged limb, comprising a casing, a power driven shaft journaled in said casing, a cutter-bladev fixed on said shaft, and protruding with its cutting portion from said casing, a slotted guard hingedto the forward edge of said casing and extending backward in the direction of the cutting and being adapted to bear on the outer surface of a given hard cover of a yielding matter, while the machine is being advanced for cutting said cover, a shoe-like member rigidly connected with said casing and adapted to be slid between said hard cover and said yielding matter, and a spring connected to said guard and said. casing, said spring being of suilicient strength to substantially counteract the weight resting on said guard, and tending to lift the casing in relation to the guard bearing upon the hard cover whereby said shoe-like member may be pressed against the inner surface of said hard cover.

5..A machine for cutting a hard cover of a yielding matter, such as a plaster cast of a bandaged 1imb, comprising a. casing, a power drivenshaft journaled in said casing, a cutterblade fixed on said shaft andvprotruding' with its cutting portion from said casing, supporting means r for said casing resiliently mounted on said cas-f ing and having a bearing portion adapted to bear on the outer surface, of a given hardcover of a yielding matter while the machine is be'- ing advanced for cutting said cover, a shoe-likev member in rigid connection with said casing,

protruding beneath the cuttingportion of said cutting blade and adaptedto slide between said hard cover and said yielding matter, the bearing portion of said supporting means being movable in a backward and upward direction in relation to the advancing, machine against the force of, said resilient mounting means, and said resilient mounting means beingof suificient strength to substantially counteract the weight resting upon o said supporting means.

HERBERT J. HELLER, A 

